Urlacher's back in question

Brian Urlacher wasn’t ducking questions about a defensive effort that gave up 365 net yards to the NFL’s 16th ranked offense. He was fending off questions about the condition of his back.

Mike DeDoncker

Not sure. Don’t know. Probably.

That was the extent of Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher’s comments Sunday after the Bears’ 16-7 loss to the Detroit Lions.

Urlacher wasn’t ducking questions about a defensive effort that gave up 365 net yards to the NFL’s 16th ranked offense. He was fending off questions about the condition of his back.

Urlacher, credited with two tackles and two assists Sunday compared to 12 tackles when the teams met in Detroit on Sept. 30, saw a specialist in Pittsburgh this week and was diagnosed with an arthritic condition in his back, according to a pre-game report on Fox Sports by Jay Glazer.

"Probably," Urlacher said when asked if that report was accurate.

Glazer also said Urlacher told him that his back has hurt him all year, that it’s more painful than his torn hamstrings that caused him to miss several games two years ago and that he has problems bending down and back pedaling and that doctors have examined his back with X-rays, MRIs and CAT scans.

Urlacher, who first started giving short answers to the Chicago media when asked about his back 10 days earlier, said there was no reason he wouldn’t talk to the media. But he limited his answers to "don’t know" and "not sure" when reporters asked why he decided to limit his discussion with them or when he might talk to the media again.

Urlacher answered "probably" again when asked if he would keep playing each week unless the back condition worsened.

Bears coach Lovie Smith said he was unaware of any trip to Pittsburgh by Urlacher or any back condition.

"I don’t know anything about that," Smith said. "What I know is that Brian played today. He’s not on the injury list and, as far as his back, there’s nothing wrong with his back that would cause him not to be able to play."

Urlacher said "not sure" when asked if Smith knew about his back.

Defensive coordinator Bob Babich said he is pleased with Urlacher’s play.

"He’s been great in practice. He’s been practicing every day, so I’m very pleased with what he has done," Babich said.

Urlacher did say he would answer questions for fans on foxsports.com once a week.

When asked when that would be, he was back to "not sure."

Staff writer Mike DeDoncker can be reached at 815-987-13823 or mdedoncker@rrstar.com.